Louis-Philippe Hébert is considered to be the first Canadian sculptor of commemorative statues, and up until the turn of the twentieth century, was nearly the sole creator of public bronze monuments and memorials across Canada. His low-relief plaques, medallions, bronze busts and life-size sculptures continue to play a crucial role in commemorating the important figures and events in Canadian history.

The son of a farmer, Hébert was born in Sainte-Sophie-de-Mégantic, Quebec in 1850. In 1869, as a young man he had the good fortune of visiting Rome. During his 11-month stay he absorbed the richness of Italian sculpture, whetting his appetite to become a sculptor. Upon returning to Canada, his true artistic apprenticeship began under the painter, sculptor, architect, writer and instructor Napoléon Bourassa, an important and respected figure of the Canadian arts scene. While under his tutelage for six years, Hébert gained experience by assisting with the plans for the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel in Montreal, and in 1879 the pair worked together on a model for a monument to Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, which today sits at the Place d’Armes in Montreal. That same year he was commissioned by architect and priest Georges Bouillon to carve 60 works in wood to decorate the chancel of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Ottawa.

In 1880 he was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and received his first commission, for a commemorative bronze monument to Charles-Michel d’Irumberry de Salaberry. In 1882, competing against artists from Europe and the United States, Hébert’s design was selected for the memorial to Sir George-Étienne Cartier to be placed on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

A turning point for his career came at the age of 36, when he proposed to undertake the composing, modelling and bronze casting of ten statues for the new Quebec legislative building. In order to properly execute this task it was agreed that he was to take an 18-month sojourn in Paris, to observe and study the work of the master sculptors and learn the bronze casting process. He left in 1887 and ended up spending six years there. Hébert submitted his design for the entrance piece of the building to the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, a bronze of a First Nations group entitled Famille d’Abénaquis or Halte dans la forêt, and he won the third prize medal of honour, a first for a Canadian artist.

Hébert’s legacy as one of Canada’s most important sculptors was cemented further by numerous important commissions and state recognitions. In 1894 Ottawa awarded him the Medal of Confederation, and he was made a chevalier of France’s Legion of Honour in 1901. The British monarchy made him a Companion of St. Michael and St. George in 1903 and in Rome he became a knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 1914.